Eyes on the stars

Dare to be Greater.

“As it is, we are merely bolting our lives—gulping down undigested experiences as fast as we can stuff them in—because awareness of our own existence is so superficial and so narrow that nothing seems to us more boring than simple being. If I ask you what you did, saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted yesterday, I am likely to get nothing more than the thin, sketchy outline of the few things that you noticed, and of those only what you thought worth remembering. Is it surprising that an existence so experienced seems so empty and bare that its hunger for an infinite future is insatiable? But suppose you could answer, “It would take me forever to tell you, and I am much too interested in what’s happening now.” How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such enchanted musical instruments as the ears, and such a fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience itself as anything less than a god? And, when you consider that this incalculably subtle organism is inseparable from the still more marvelous patterns of its environment—from the minutest electrical designs to the whole company of the galaxies—how is it conceivable that this incarnation of all eternity can be bored with being?” Alan Wilson Watts

I love New Years Day and January. The atmosphere has a buzz of change and promise about it. Tim’s brother rightly said that people shouldn’t have to leave bettering themselves to a certain time in the year and it should be possible to have this mindset at any point in life. But some people need a little push.
I love the idea of a clean slate and am absorbing all the quotes flying about at the moment highlighting a new start, a fresh page, a world full of possibilities. This is the time of year we should aim high and set the bar higher in what we want and what we believe we can achieve.

This is my second year where I have sat down and dedicated a few hours to the past and looked back over the last year to take from it the learnings that will enable me to become better at the things I love and also understand how and why the not so good situations have happened. I go through month by month then producing a summary of what I can take from the year, what I want to take forward and then set goals for the next year. These goals are very open but allow me to tailor my mindset to then achieve the very specific goals I have and will set throughout 2015.
My five general goals for 2015 are – To Run, To do more Crossfit, To Complete my Course, To Save, To Maintain & Establish Connections with People.
These are all based on areas that I enjoy, benefit me and will better me.

2014 seemed to consist of a lot more than 365 days for me. The experiences and the learnings were relentless. Life is very much a mutating adventure and in order to get the most out of it I believe you need to become adaptable and open, otherwise you may miss an opportunity or experience due to being too blinkered by where you are going and what you apparently want to become.
I wholeheartedly accept the ideal that humans are designed to want and build connections hence the popularity with social media that keeps growing, it is also pleasing to see people actively taking time outs from the digital age and re-establishing a connection with nature and living in the present moment.
A balanced diet is a mantra that is banded around and this can be held to any segment of life not just food. This applies to Facebook, Instagram, emails… there is a constant need to be present in these areas but in doing so we can become so wrapped up in a virtual world that we may miss how incredible and fabulous our current environment is.
With all the plans for 2015 I still have a desire to keep living in the moment and doing my best to appreciate the small things that I could miss by running on to the next task or worrying about what tomorrow may bring. The stark reality is that you may not get to tomorrow so don’t let it consume your today and compromise a moment that could allow tomorrow to be even more exhilarating than you could imagine.